The issue of women’s role in Islam is controversial. Western societies have adopted a common perception of Muslim women, which differs from reality. It is considered that women in Islam countries live under the dictatorship of their husbands and have few inconsiderable rights.
However, the role of Muslim women is clearly determined in Islam. Men and women are equal in the sight of Allah and have their own rights. Thus, women can receive education and obtain job; they have a right to vote, and can engage in politics or business. A woman’s role of being a wife and a mother is the most principal. Women are responsible for raising children, taking care of their husbands and keeping households.
Indeed, in pre-Islamic Arabia women had no legal status and were sold into marriage as a property. Islam has improved the role of women in Arab society by ‘instituting rights of property ownership, inheritance, education and divorce’ (Maan & McIntosh, 2000). Presently, women’s roles vary widely according to laws and cultural traditions of different societies. For example, in Egypt and Morocco discrimination in the sphere of education and employment remains unchanged. Muslim women were also given the right to vote. They can participate in elections in all Islamic countries except Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Lebanon and Arab Emirates. Although the number of women in Muslim parliaments has increased significantly, there is no women representation in the Parliament of Saudi Arabia. Women in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan were not allowed to be educated or work and faced public flogging. Islamic revolution in Iraq gave women a wide range of rights. Yet Iraq provides women with more civil rights than any other Muslim country. About 60% of university students in Iraq are female.
Muslim women, like women all over the world, continuously struggled against inequality. Feminists in the Muslim world continue defending their rights and striving for better social status. Taking into consideration that the practice of women discrimination is largely based on cultural traditions, rather than Islamic religion, the role of women in Islam will keep changing.
References
Maan, B., & Mclntosh, A. (2000). The whole house of Islam, and we Christians with them. The Coracle, the Iona Community, 3(51), 8-11.
References: Maan, B., & Mclntosh, A. (2000). The whole house of Islam, and we Christians with them. The Coracle, the Iona Community, 3(51), 8-11.
You May Also Find These Documents Helpful
-
This book elaborately discusses numerous inaccurate depictions of Muslim society. However, the central stereotype, which is being challenged throughout the text, relates to Islamic women and how they are seen as limited by their religious beliefs. It is important that Wilson…
- 305 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
This entry is in responses to Lila Abu-Lughod’s Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?I find this essay to be incredibly important. It challenges the Western notion that women of the Muslim fate are inherently subjugated and oppressed.…
- 125 Words
- 1 Page
Satisfactory Essays -
Women’s rights have been a highly controversial topic throughout Islamic history. Historians to this day argue whether Islam broadens or restricts them. Some argue that women’s rights have expanded because they are considered equals in God’s eyes, are allowed to vote, and the government has attempted to broaden women’s rights. However, previous women rights have been taken away, laws favor men, and women are commonly valued for appearances.…
- 495 Words
- 2 Pages
Good Essays -
Barlow, Rebecca, and Shahram Akbarzadeh. "Women 's rights in the muslim world: reform or reconstruction?." Third World Quarterly 27.8 (2006): 1481-1494. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 27 Mar. 2011.…
- 2608 Words
- 11 Pages
Powerful Essays -
There are many political, religious, and cultural factors that shape the lives of Islamic women. Islam is one of the world’s fastest growing religions; however, Brooks argues that “Islam’s holiest texts have been misused to justify the repression of women, and how male pride and power have warped the original message of this once liberating faith.” The book also shows these factors have slowly been taking away women’s rights, rather than furthering them.…
- 1250 Words
- 4 Pages
Powerful Essays -
Although the world seems to be developing yearly in improving women's lives “the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has made the fewest reforms of any region”.“Eltahawy argued that in the Muslim world women are still treated like animals by men who disdain and fear them.” Furthermore, this proves women in the Middle East are fighting a battle that seems to be bigger than them. It is engraved in their minds from an early age that they are meant to be objectified, but as the world evolves slowly they began to realize they were being treated unequally. Eltahawy continues by stating in “Headscarves and Hymens” another woman's experience where her husband “solely focuses on his…
- 530 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
The life of women in the a Islamic society is faced with great and unequal odds, as their human rights are limited, due to Islamic beliefs and a patriarchy society. From their daily actions at home, to their physical appearance, women are portrayed as quiet, faceless women veiled from head to toe. While this image is just another stereotype, women in the Islamic society do face many obstacles and challenges of creating their own identity as they are frequently denied their rights. Living in a society dominated by men, life in some cases is difficult for women in the Islamic society. There is constant fight for a change as they balance their traditional roles with those of modern society.…
- 869 Words
- 4 Pages
Better Essays -
Many people choose to believe that women rights issues only affect Muslim countries, but that logic is so far from the truth. Women’s rights around the world are just as important as all other issues, and it is a critical indicator towards understanding general worldwide existence.…
- 1179 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
First Slide>>Introduction- Millions of women throughout the world live in conditions in which they are deprived of their basic human rights for no other reason than their gender. Women throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia were unable to have any influence over the political, religious or cultural lives of their societies. They couldn’t own property or inherit land and wealth, and were frequently treated as property themselves.…
- 792 Words
- 3 Pages
Satisfactory Essays -
Many feminists of the global North view the Muslim religion as inherently oppressive towards women even though they know nothing about the religion or Muslim culture. They only address it from an outsiders perspective and not from the perspective of Muslim women. Lila Abu- Lughod discusses this issue in her book Do Muslim Women Need Saving?. In the introduction chapter Zaynab, a friend of Abu- Lughod from southern Egypt, does a good job of summarizing what Western women should really be concerned about ( Abu-Lughod, pg. 1). When Abu- Lughod mentions her research and how Western women believe that Muslim women are oppressed Zaynab agrees and explains that Muslim women are not given certain rights, but that this is due to the oppressive government not Islam (Abu- Lughod, pg. 1). Feminists of the global North view traditional Muslim headscarves as oppressive and fail to recognize or consider the actual feelings of Muslim women. These misconceptions hold them back from actually helping Muslim women. Another one of the reasons why Western feminists view Islam as oppressive is due to “honor crimes”, acts of violence (often times murder) against female family members by male family members due to the female members violating sexual codes and thus dishonoring their family. Western feminists view honor crimes as barbaric Muslim traditions and fail to recognize that honor killings really stem from the intense value of honor and family that exists in Muslim culture (Abu-Lughod, pg. 114-116). It is not religion that fuels these murders but the society that holds honor in such high regard. Yet again Western feminists fail to learn about the cultures in which these issues lie and the women they are concerned…
- 1318 Words
- 6 Pages
Good Essays -
Leila Ahmed’s book is an example of what scholarly research should resemble. At no time did I feel that she was being bias or subjective towards any side on this highly discussed and sensitive topic. Nowhere does Ahmed specifically go about attempting to correct misconceptions or often misquoted passages; but rather, she goes about a proper chronological historical understanding of the treatment of women before, during, and after the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). This, I feel, is the main theme of the 3 chapters we read: Comparing and contrasting the treatment of women in the social, domestic, and political realms before, during, and after Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) life.…
- 893 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays -
The female plays a vital role in every culture, but the expectation of a woman is different from North America to the Middle East. American women had to fight for their current rights, but in some countries women are not given the opportunity to fight, or even think it. Both religion and men from the Middle East play a major role in the Islamic woman’s beliefs, education, and even health. Imagine the American women of the past, who were not able to have an education, expected to bare children, expected to wear a dress and had no say in the political world.…
- 1076 Words
- 5 Pages
Better Essays -
The common stereotype of Muslim women is a voiceless, passive, victim. We do not see or hear stories of Muslim women leading successful jobs or households, but more as a helpless victim of violence and sexual acts of other Muslims. Stories of murders and honor killings of the Islamic religion are more commonly told. An aspect that adds to the common label of Muslim women is their religious expectations and requirements. The media expresses this as a requirement that is against their will and have no choice, thus again being voiceless.…
- 543 Words
- 3 Pages
Good Essays -
Among the many topics of interest to non-Muslims, the status of Muslim women and the theme of their rights, or rather, the perceived lack of them seems to be foremost. The differences in how the Islamic countries interpret and follow the Islamic laws, seems to contribute to this perception. An acceptable number of Muslims and non-Muslims do agree that women should have more equal rights, whilst others believe that traditional gender differences under Muslim law are proper and positive in the Muslim society. The meaning of the words “Muslim” and “oppression” might help us to understand the argument over whether Muslim women are oppressed by the Islamic laws. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, under the definition of Muslim, the etymology of the word Muslim is given as the “active participle of aslama to submit oneself to the will of God, of which the noun of action is islām.” The OED goes on to say that one is referred to as a Muslim if one is “a follower of the religion of Islam,” and that Muslim as an adjective means “of or relating to Islam, its followers, or their culture” (defs. A1 and B). The same dictionary defines oppression as the “prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or exercise of authority, control, or power; tyranny; exploitation” or “the action of forcibly putting down or crushing; the repression or suppression of a person or thing” (defs. 2a and 4). It is now clear then that the argument is whether or not the Muslim women are being suppressed or treated unjustly under the Islamic laws. My own view is that Muslim women are not oppressed under the Islamic law. Women who follow Islam voluntarily may not be equal to men in the manner defined by Western feminists, but their cultural core differences from men are acknowledged by the Islamic laws, and they have rights of their own that do not apply to men.…
- 2222 Words
- 9 Pages
Better Essays -
From ancient times to modern times, the position of women in Jewish society has often been challenged and reformed. From the first century when women had no rights, to recent history where women are granted the right to become ordained rabbis, they are in a constant motion to fight for more equality among the men.…
- 945 Words
- 4 Pages
Good Essays